In a 56-page Award dated October 29, 1999, Referee Richard Kasher has determined that the Carrier may proceed with implementation of its 1999 Availability Policy. The Award contains some very harsh language criticizing the Carrier for abandoning the lofty goals of the National Wage and Rules Panel and the cooperative efforts of the Work/Rest Task Force. The Referee also cited his own examples of the unreasonableness of the Policy as written, and strongly suggested that the parties meet at the negotiating table in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of the Carrier's perceived layoff problem. In the end, however, the Award does not specifically mandate negotiations, and it does not prohibit the Carrier from implementing the Policy. I have not received a full copy of the Award, and I will provide further updates as additional information becomes available later this week.